Rights group says Nepal must punish rapes committed during decade-long communist insurgency

KATMANDU, Nepal – A human rights group says both government troops and communist guerrillas raped women during a decade of fighting in Nepal and a short time limit for reporting attacks prevented victims from making their complaints.

Human Rights Watch in a report released Tuesday in Katmandu said both sides committed sexual violence but the crimes remain largely undisclosed. It said Nepal's 35-day statute of limitation on reporting sexual violence was a hurdle for the victims.

The Maoist rebels and government troops fought between 1996 and 2006 when a U.N.-monitored peace agreement ended the war.

Both sides have said a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to be formed by the government would investigate all the crimes committed during the conflict.